In a country defined by beef and a city that turned its back on the river, Gabriel Oggero set out to rewrite history. More than 20 years ago, when few Argentines ate seafood — let alone oysters — he opened Crizia with an ambitious goal: bringing the Argentine Sea to Buenos Aires tables.
It paid off. Crizia has since become one of the country’s leading seafood restaurants, earning a red Michelin Star in 2025 for its “exceptional cuisine” and a Green Star for its commitment to sustainability for the second consecutive year. It also ranked No. 40 in the latest edition of Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants.
Its signature tasting menu, Puro Mar (“Pure Sea”), is a multi-course journey through Argentina’s diverse waters, featuring everything from oysters to seaweed. The regular menu also includes prawns from Puerto Madryn, king crab from Ushuaia, squid from Malvinas Islands, and Patagonian toothfish from Antarctic waters.
Crizia’s elegant Palermo dining room also features an oyster bar, an open kitchen and a striking four-story vertical wine cellar with more than 15,000 bottles.
Oggero welcomed the Buenos Aires Herald in his culinary stronghold to discuss the city’s evolving dining scene, his early years and his decision to champion Argentine seafood. The interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
What led you to gastronomy?
My family is deeply rooted in the restaurant business. My father was born in a tiny town in Santa Fe province. When he was very young, he moved to Buenos Aires and found work as a kitchen assistant for a catering company. He worked his way up and eventually started his own catering business for the Jewish community, an iconic company that operated in Buenos Aires for 55 years, called *El Ciervo de Oro* (“The Golden Deer”)
I started working with him when I was very young. By the time I was 10, I’d join him after school. That’s how I discovered my vocation. At 14, I began helping in the pastry kitchen, where I worked until I was 18. Then I moved into the savory kitchen and started the culinary career that I’ve followed ever since.
Did you always have the idea of opening your own restaurant?
I always dreamed of having my own restaurant. In 2004, after traveling extensively and learning about gastronomy abroad, a friend told me he was opening a nightclub in downtown Buenos Aires. He said, “We have this wonderful space for a restaurant upstairs — I’d love for you to do something with it.” I immediately fell in love with the place.
Crizia was born in November 2004, on the first floor above a nightclub. Back then, our cooking was more comfort-driven, with a strong New York influence — sushi, a wood-fired grill, and contemporary dishes. Argentina was enjoying a strong post-crisis recovery, and the area near Puerto Madero was full of tourists. I stayed there for three years, from 2004 to 2007.
When did you decide that Crizia should go all in on seafood?
A defining moment came in 2006, when a close friend invited me to spend the summer in Mar del Plata at a new beach club. We opened Crizia Beach, our seaside restaurant. We went in for one season and ended up remaining for seven years.
I set up a massive grill and a spacious kitchen because I knew we’d be serving around 200 patrons. I got in touch with a local fisherman and asked him to bring me some fresh fish. I was used to Buenos Aires, where, 23 years ago, fresh seafood was nothing like it is today. People mostly ate hake, and there wasn’t much awareness of other species.
The next day I came into the restaurant to find 10 crates overflowing with fresh fish, including several species I’d never even seen before. I brought my team — who were still in downtown Buenos Aires — to Mar del Plata. We rented a house there and began researching, thinking about how we could bring it to Buenos Aires.
We were serving seafood salads, fried fish dishes that went far beyond the usual calamari and silversides, and whole fish grilled over an open flame. It was a sensation.
In 2007, we launched our first seafood-only menu in Buenos Aires. It was right when we moved to Palermo. Microcentro was incredible at lunchtime — it was always packed — but I wanted to relocate because I felt our concept had room to grow. We moved into a space with 75 seats and an open kitchen. Little by little the restaurant evolved into an oyster bar. Oysters became Crizia’s signature. It later evolved, and I found a place where we could develop our fine dining. Here on Fitz Roy street we also found the place to expand our wine cellar.
We kept our eclecticism; you can come in and have six oysters or a dish of seasonal beets and have a glass of wine at the bar.
Was it hard to establish a seafood menu in Buenos Aires?
It was incredibly challenging. Financially, the restaurant went through months of empty tables because people didn’t know what to make of it. They’d say, “Oh, Crizia changed its menu — now it’s only seafood…” when that wasn’t true at all. There was still a bit of everything.
Seafood became a defining part of our identity, but in a culture like ours, it’s traditionally taken a back seat. Culturally, we inherited an Italian and Spanish culinary tradition in which seafood was typically prepared a la vasca or al ajillo — fish covered in sauces and seasonings to the point where you barely knew what you were eating. Today, you come to Crizia or another contemporary restaurant, and you’re served a simply grilled wreckfish. It’s more natural, more product-driven, and more local — something that better reflects who we are. That was the path we chose.
How did you create the Puro Mar tasting menu?
We wanted to create a journey through the Argentine Sea. We started with bivalves: oysters, scallops and clams. Then we divided fish into three categories—southern species, northern species and those from the central Atlantic. After that came crustaceans: prawns, crab, king crab. Then cephalopods: squid, baby squid. And finally, something people often overlook: four or five dishes on our menu feature seaweed — the dessert is actually a seaweed ice cream. We present 21 different concepts across 11 courses — some of them are just a single bite. Each one explores a different part of our oceanic landscape, and I think that’s what makes it so special.
What do you find new or exciting about Buenos Aires’ dining scene today?
Buenos Aires — and Argentina as a whole — is an incredibly difficult place to develop restaurants or new culinary ideas, because the economy is so unstable. One year things are great, the next they’re terrible; one month is strong, the next is awful. When you’re building a fine-dining restaurant or projects like ours, the level of commitment is enormous because we work directly with producers and fishermen in long-term efforts.
At the same time, I think the Masticar Food Fair was a clear turning point. It brought chefs and producers much closer together, and it also allowed the public to discover the people behind the ingredients.
Then came a generational shift, with many young chefs opening their own restaurants. Proper, for example, was founded by two chefs who showed the city what seasonal, ingredient-driven cooking could look like from a former auto repair shop. That inspired countless new ideas.
Then you have Don Julio, which elevated live-fire cooking beyond beef to include fish, prawns and even beets or peppers. It completely changed the way people think about the Buenos Aires steakhouse and turned it into something aspirational. Now everyone wants to raise their standards, even if they’re serving only locals rather than wealthy tourists drinking expensive wine. That influence has spread across Buenos Aires and throughout the country.
The same goes for pizza. If you travel around the world, it’s surprisingly hard to find pizza in Italy that’s as good as what you’ll find in Buenos Aires today. The same with ice cream.
Do you think Buenos Aires has developed its own culinary identity?
Absolutely. Buenos Aires cuisine has revived the old neighborhood cantina, drawing on the traditions of Italian and Spanish immigrants, and then gradually improved it.
As for fine dining, there are only a handful of Michelin-starred restaurants in Buenos Aires. We all share a similar philosophy — focusing on ingredients and trying to showcase the diversity of Argentina — but each expresses it differently. At Crizia, our vision has always centered on the Argentine Sea, complemented by outstanding local meats and vegetables.
What’s a uniquely Argentine food tradition that you love?
I love the importance Argentines place on gathering around the table. Everything that takes place there, whether it’s dinner with friends at a restaurant, pizza, or an asado at my house. Plates go in the middle for everyone to share, people drink wine and have all sorts of conversations, someone constantly interrupts to tell another story, and meals stretch on for three or four hours. I honestly think it’s unique in the world. I look forward to it every time, and I’d do it every day if I could.
Where do you like to eat out?
El Preferido de Palermo, Don Julio, Don Zoilo and El Pobre Luis. And for pizza, Siamo nel Forno.
